Drawers for furniture

ABSTRACT

A four-sided drawer frame including a drawer front member, a back member and two side members, all such members being constructed of an injection moulded plastic material. The back member includes hollow box sections having cavities therein formed at its ends adjoining the respective side members. The side members are formed with ribbed connecting elements extending normal to the plane of the side members, and received in the cavities of the box sections for joining together the drawer back and the side members. The opposite end of each side member is formed with a hollow box section for receiving therein ribbed connecting elements provided opposite the box section on the inner wall of the drawer front member.

United States Patent Alston 1 Aug. 29, 1972 [54] DRAWERS FOR FURNITURE 3,462,208 8/1969 Black et a]. ..312/330 X Inventor: li w L. Alston Market Himelreich X Place Sudbury Suffolk England Primary Examiner.lordan Franklin [22] Filed: July 1969 Assistant Examiner-George H. Krizmanich [2-1] Appl. No; 841,341 Att0meyWolf, Greenfield & Sacks [57] ABSTRACT {2i} 338511111111:1111111::1i11iiiiiiiififTTTifiiik A four-rider rrrrwrr rrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrr r rrrrwrr rrrrrr 58 Field of Search ..312/330, 273, 257 R, 258; memberr a and z f 220/41, 217/12 such members 1ng constructe 0 an in ection moulded plastic material. The back member includes hollow box sections having cavities therein formed at [56] References Clted its ends adjoining the respective side members. The UNITED STATES PATENTS side membegs are forrgled with rilbbed tc tzlrlmecing elements exten ing norm to t e p ane o e si e mem- 2,701,174 2/1955 Franks ..3l2/330 X hers, and received in the cavities of the box Sections 3,112,969 12/1963 9 9 et a1 "312/330 for joining together the drawer back and the side 3,273,952 Hlll'ldl'elch Ct members The pp i end f each Side member is 3,312,516 4/1967 ..312/330 formed i a hollow box Section for receiving therein 3,316,460 4/ 1967 SCOV1116 ..220/4 X ribbed connecting elements provided opposite the box 3,377,115 4/1968 Hansen et "312/330 section on the inner wall of the drawer front member. 3,413,050 11/1968 Sommers et a1. ..220/4 X 3,416,850 12/1968 Hilfinger et a1 ..312/330 3 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENTEnwaze I972 SHEET 1 [IF 5 llllll F GE PATENTED M1829 I972 sum 3 OF 5 v Wig Mm #30054 PATENTEB M1829 I972 SHEET t UF 5 FIG 77 PAIENTEDwszs m2 SHEET 5 OF 5 DRAWERS FOR FURNITURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In a conventional method of making a drawer, for example, of wood, chipboard or the like material, the drawer sides, front and back are initially produced as individual parts and grooves for receiving the drawer bottom and external running grooves are separately formed in the drawer sides. Before being assembled into a four-sided frame the individual members are also separately provided with mitred or the like joints at the corners thereof. The separate provision of said grooves and joints involves additional labor and the use of separate shaping tools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention considerably to simplify and to a certain extent standardize the production of a drawer comprising four individual sides.

To this end the present invention consists in a method of making a four-sided drawer, wherein at least the drawer back and sides are individually formed from shaped injection mouldings of plastics material.

Preferably, the drawer front is made from wood, chipboard or the like material. However, if desired it can also be made of plastics material in the form of a shaped injection moulding. v

The present invention also consists in a four-sided drawer, including a back member and two side members formed from shaped injection mouldings of plastic material.

Conveniently, the plastics material used is styrene or any other suitable plastics material. Advantageously, the drawer back member is of substantially rectangular plate construction having box sections provided at its ends adjoining the respective drawer side members. The adjacent ends of the respective side members are conveniently provided with ribbed connecting elements adapted to be received in the respective cavities of said box sections to facilitate joining together of the drawer back and side members. The opposite ends of said side members are advantageously formed with box sections similar to those of the drawer back for receiving therein similar connecting elements of connecting pieces provided on the inner wall of the drawer front.

To enable two or more of said drawer back members to be connected together in order to vary the width of the drawer, a connecting piece is provided which comprises a narrow strip having a length corresponding to the width of the drawer back member and carrying on each of its two flat sides two of said connecting elements spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the strip. A projection having a pin for engaging in a hole in the drawer bottom may be provided on the drawer back connecting piece to prevent the drawer back members from bowing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate diagrammatically and by way of example, one embodiment thereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a drawer back,

FIG. 2 is an end view ofFIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a section on the line III-III of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is an elevation of a drawer back connecting piece,

FIG. 5 is an end view ofFIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a plan ofFlG. 4,

FIG. 7 is an elevation of a drawer side,

FIG. 8 is a plan ofFIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is an end view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 7,

FIG. 10 is a section on the line X-X of FIG. 7,

FIG. 11 is an elevation of a drawer front connecting piece,

FIG. 12 is an end view of FIG. 11,

FIG. 13 is a plan ofFIG. 11,

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a drawer front, and

FIG. 15 is a partial, exploded view ofa drawer.

Referring to the drawings, the drawer back 1 is an injection moulding of plastics material having a width corresponding to the desired depth of the finished drawer, and a length substantially corresponding to the desired width of the finished drawer. The plastics material is styrene or any other suitable plastics material.

The drawer back 1 is of rectangular, generally flat construction and is provided adjacent its free ends with portions 2 of box section construction. Each box section 2 comprises two outer cavities 3 and one smaller intermediate cavity 4, the rear wall 5 of each outer cavity 3 having a circular aperture 6 for the reception of a truncated cylindrical lug or peg 7 carried by connecting elements 8 of the drawer sides 9, more particularly referred to hereinbelow. The outer or rear wall 10 of the drawer back 1 has three juxtaposed comparatively shallow recesses 10 substantially corresponding to the width of the drawer back 1 and separated from one another by thin webs 11. The two outer recesses 10' adjoin the respective box section portions 2 of the drawer back 1. In the inner wall 12 of the drawer back 1 a continuous recess 13 is provided adjacent one longitudinal edge of the drawer back 1 for receiving the back edge 14 of a drawer bottom 15 (FIG. 15) which may be made of plywood or hardboard. This recess 13 extends the entire length of the drawer back 1 and is provided along one outer edge with a chamfer or lead-in bevel 16 for facilitating insertion of the back edge 14 of the drawer bottom 15 into the recess 13. A further longitudinal recess 17 extending parallel to the recess 13 is provided therebelow, the further recess 17 being interrupted by thin webs l8 spaced apart in its longitudinal direction. The end portions 17' of the further recess 17 are adapted to receive substantially rectangular locating lugs 19 provided in the drawer sides 9.

Each drawer side 9 is also an injection moulding of plastics material similar to that of the drawer back 1. The width of the drawer side 9 corresponds to that of the appertaining drawer back 1, and the length corresponding to the desired length of the finished drawer. A continuous longitudinal recess or the like groove 20 is formed in the external wall 21 of each drawer side 9 intermediate the longitudinal edge of the side 9, for engaging the usual drawer runners. The external wall 21 of each drawer side 9 has two additional, comparatively shallow recesses 22 formed therein one on each side of the runner recess 20, the additional recesses 22 extending up to the free end 23 of the drawer side 9 and terminating a short distance from the other free end 24 of the drawer side 9. The other free end 24 of the drawer side 9 is provided with a portion 25 of box section construction similar to that of the drawer back 1 as heretofore described, except that the intermediate smaller cavity 4 of the drawer back 1 is substituted by the recess for the drawer runner.

At the free end 23 of the drawer side 9 are provided two connecting elements 8 which are disposed in spaced relationship traversely of the drawer side 9 and extend inwardly, normal to the plane of the inner wall 26 of the drawer side 9. Each connecting element 8 comprises a substantially rectangular plate member 8 having three parallel spaced rib members 8" provided on its inner wall surface, said rib member 8" projecting at right angles from the plate member 8 in a direction normal to the plane of the drawer side 9. The upper and lower edges of each said plate member 8' is slightly bevelled or chamfered adjacent the free edge thereof for facilitating introduction of the connecting elements 8 into the respective cavities of the box section 2 provided in the drawer back 1 to facilitate connection of the drawer side 9 to the drawer back 1. On the outer surface of each said plate member 8 there is provided the truncated, cylindrical lug or peg 7, the lugs or pegs 7 being so positioned on the plate member 8' that when the connecting elements 8 are inserted into the respective cavities 3 of the box sections 2 the lugs 7 come to lie in the respective circular apertures 6 of the box section 2 and form anchoring means for the connecting elements 8.

Two longitudinal recesses 27 and 28 arranged and shaped similarly to the longitudinal recesses 13 and 17 respectively, in the drawer back 1 adjacent one of its longitudinal edges, are provided in each of the drawer sides 9. The recess 27 serves to receive the side edge 29 of the drawer bottom 15. The recess 28 terminates a short distance from the end face of the drawer side 9 adjacent the connecting elements 8, and at this point the rectangular locating lug 19 is provided which is adapted to engage the end portion 17' of the longitudinal recess 17 in the drawer back 1 and which forms additional connecting means for joining the drawer back 1 and sides 9 together.

In order to secure the drawer front 30 (FIG. 14), for example made of chipboard, to the two side members 9, a connecting piece 31 for each drawer side 9 is provided which is adapted to be secured to the internal wall 30 of the drawer front 30 in alignment with the adjacent box sections of the drawer sides 9. Each connecting piece 31 comprises a flat, narrow strip 32 having a length substantially corresponding to the width of the drawer side 9, and carrying on one flat side two connecting elements 8 as hereinabove described spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the strip 32. On its other flat side the narrow strip 32 carries two barbed, cylindrical fixing pegs 33 which are adapted to engage two respective bores (not shown) provided in the inner wall of the drawer front 30 to secure the connecting piece 31 on the inner wall 30 of the drawer front 30.

Intermediate the two connecting elements 8, the strip 32 is provided with a hole 34 adapted to receive a retaining screw 35 or the like for additionally securing the connecting piece 31 to the drawer front 30. Adjace'nt one transverse edge of the strip 32 there is provided a recess 36 which is adapted to receive a corner portion of the adjacent edge of the drawer bottom 15, and also a rectangular lug 37 for engaging the recess 28 in the drawer side 9.

In order to vary the width of the drawer without altering the length thereof, provision is made for joining together two or more of the drawer backs l, in end to end relationship by means of connecting pieces 38 which essentially have a similar construction to the drawer front connecting piece 31 with the difference that a connecting element 8 as described is substituted for each said barbed peg 33 on the other flat side of strip 32, and a rectangular lug 39 is provided on this side of the strip 32. In addition a projection 40 carrying a truncated pin 41 is provided internally of the con-' necting piece 38 for locating in a hole 42 in the drawer bottom 15 to prevent the two or more drawer members 1 from bowing.

I claim:

1. A four-sided drawer frame including a drawer front member, a back member and two side members, the back member and side members being of rectangular plate construction and being separately formed from injection mouldings of plastics material, wherein the drawer back member has hollow box sections formed at its ends adjoining the respective drawer side members, said box sections providing at least two cavities, the end of the respective side member adjoining said back member being formed with ribbed connecting elements extending normal to the plane of said side member and received in the respective cavities of said box sections joining together the drawer back and side members, said front member being formed with spaced ribbed connecting elements extending from the inner wall of the drawer front member, the opposite end of each side member being formed with a hollow box section receiving therein the ribbed connecting elements provided opposite said box section on the inner wall of the drawer front member, and further comprising any additional back member usable to vary the width of the drawer frame, a connecting piece including a relatively narrow strip having side surfaces in facing relationship to box sections of said back members and having a length corresponding substantially to the height of the drawer back members, and connecting elements extending from said surfaces spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the strip and aligned with the cavities of the back members, wherein the connecting elements of the connecting piece are inserted within the box sections of the back members to thereby join the back members.

2. A drawer frame as defined in claim 1 wherein the drawer back connecting piece comprises a projection having a pin projecting therefrom, and said drawer frame comprises a drawer bottom having a hole therein for accommodating said pin to thereby prevent the drawer back members from bowing.

3. A four-sided drawer frame including a solid drawer front member, a back member and two side members, the back member and side members being of rectangular plate construction and being separately formed from injection mouldings of plastics material, wherein the drawer back member has hollow box sections integrally formed only at its ends adjoining the respective drawer side members, said box sections providing at least two cavities, the side members being elements extending from the inner wall of the drawer front member, the opposite end of each side member being formed with an integral hollow box section receiving therein the ribbed connecting elements provided opposite said box section on the inner wall of the drawer front member. 

1. A four-sided drawer frame including a drawer front member, a back member and two side members, the back member and side members being of rectangular plate construction and being separately formed from injection mouldings of plastics material, wherein the drawer back member has hollow box sections formed at its ends adjoining the respective drawer side members, said box sections providing at least two cavities, the end of the respective side member adjoining said back member being formed with ribbed connecting elements extending normal to the plane of said side member and received in the respective cavities of said box sections joining together the drawer back and side members, said front member being formed with spaced ribbed connecting elements extending from the inner wall of the drawer front member, the opposite end of each side member being formed with a hollow box section receiving therein the ribbed connecting elements provided opposite said box section on the inner wall of the drawer front member, and further comprising an additional back member usable to vary the width of the drawer frame, a connecting piece including a relatively narrow strip having side surfaces in facing relationship to box sections of said back members and having a length corresponding substantially to the height of the drawer back members, and connecting elements extending from said surfaces spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the strip and aligned with the cavities of the back members, wherein the connecting elements of the connecting piece are inserted within the box sections of the back members to thereby join the back members.
 2. A drawer frame as defined in claim 1 wherein the drawer back connecting piece comprises a projection having a pin projecting therefrom, and said drawer frame comprises a drawer bottom having a hole therein for accommodating said pin to thereby prevent the drawer back members from bowing.
 3. A four-sided drawer frame including a solid drawer front member, a back member and two side members, the back member and side members being of rectangular plate construction and being separately formed from injection mouldings of plastics material, wherein the drawer back member has hollow box sections integrally formed only at its ends adjoining the respective drawer side members, said box sections providing at least two cavities, the side members being substantially solid and the end of the respective side member adjoining said back member being formed with integral ribbed connecting elements extending normal to the plane of said side member and received in the respective cavities of said box sections joining together the drawer back and side members, said front member being provided with spaced ribbed connecting elements extending from the inner wall of the drawer front member, the opposite end of each side member being formed with an integral hollow box section receiving therein the ribbed connecting elements provided opposite said box section on the inner wall of the drawer front member. 